Principals of Colleges of Education across Ghana have made a call for an urgent and comprehensive audit to investigate the alarming rates of failure among newly trained teachers in the recent licensure examinations.
The call comes after a total of 6,451 (83.5%) prospective teachers who wrote the re-sit papers conducted in May 2023 by the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination failed. Only 1,277 out of the 7,728 potential teachers who wrote the re-sit papers passed.
The shocking results have raised concerns about the quality of teacher training and the readiness of educators to enter the workforce. It was against this backdrop that the National President of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF), Professor Samuel Awinkene Atintono, during an annual conference held in Bolgatanga in the Upper East region, called for an audit of the mass failures.
“The Licensure Exams introduced as part of teacher professionalism are a very good move as they seek to position teachers as professionals and make them meet global teacher’s standards. However, there are other issues that need to be looked at, such as conducting an assessment to find out the issue of mass failures among new teachers, indeed not happening from our colleges but from other participants from other institutions,” Prof. Atintono said.
The licensure exams, conducted by the National Teaching Council (NTC), are a crucial component in the certification process for new teachers, ensuring that they meet the required standards before taking up teaching positions in schools across Ghana.
Prof. Atintono, who spoke on behalf of PRINCOF, added that “the pass mark, ranging from 50-70 percent, is very worrying for teacher training, and this must be reconsidered.”
The theme of the annual conference was ‘Repositioning Colleges of Education as Centers of Excellence for Teacher Education in Ghana.’ The Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF) used the occasion to call on the government to improve the conditions of service for staff.
“The condition of service for our staff remains unattractive. Although I will admit that there have been some improvements, in recent times, we have witnessed a number of labour unrest from both teaching and non-teaching staff of the Colleges of Education regarding the condition of their service.”
“However, the amount of 10 cedis per student per day as a feeding fee is woefully inadequate and must be increased to at least 30 cedis per student per day. The students’ allowance is also not paid on time. Principals of training colleges have headaches about how to feed their students,” Prof. Atintono lamented.
On her part, the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Gifty Twum-Ampofo, who was the guest of honor, underscored the need for quality education at the Colleges of Education across the country to complement the investment the government is making in the sector. She called for the need to create an environment that encourages research, critical thinking, and collaboration at Colleges of Education.
While pledging the ministry’s support to the Colleges of Education, Madam Twum-Ampofo called for a concerted effort to redefine the narrative of teacher education in the country.
Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, the Overlord of the Talensi Traditional Area who chaired the conference, applauded PRINCOF for the efforts they have made in producing quality teachers for the country over the years.
